Johnny Garcia wins Texas Democratic runoff election
Johnny Garcia won the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’s 35th Congressional District, defeating Maureen Galindo 60.5% to 39.5% as called by the Associated Press. the race drew major attention due to controversy around Galindo’s campaign, including inflammatory social media posts that drew antisemitism-related backlash and prompted some Democrats to distance themselves and call for her expulsion if elected.
Questions were also raised about her campaign finances, including reports of donations from the Led Left PAC and alleged connections to Republican operatives. Garcia, who launched his campaign in October after working as a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, had support from prominent Texas Democrats such as Rep. Greg Casar and James Talarico.
The 35th District had been substantially reshaped by Texas’s new congressional map, shifting it away from the Austin area and toward parts of south and northeast Texas counties around Bexar, which influenced who ran where-Casar ultimately sought the newly Austin-centered 37th District instead and won it by a large margin.
Johnny Garcia won the Democratic primary runoff for Texas‘s 35th Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating opponent Maureen Galindo in a closely watched race shaped by controversy surrounding Galindo’s campaign.
Garcia received 60.5% of the vote to Galindo’s 39.5% when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening.
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In the final weeks before the election, Galindo, a self-described sex therapist, faced a firestorm of backlash over a series of inflammatory social media posts that critics condemned as antisemitic.
“She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” Galindo wrote in a recent Instagram post. “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
The remarks prompted several Democrats to distance themselves from her candidacy, including two Jewish House Democrats who said they would support expelling her from Congress if she won the seat.
Questions also emerged over Galindo’s campaign financing after reports that her campaign received thousands of dollars from Lead Left PAC, a political action committee Democrats have alleged has ties to Republican operatives.
Garcia launched his campaign in October after serving for several years as a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. He secured endorsements from multiple prominent Texas Democrats, including Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who previously said he would not campaign alongside Galindo if she became the nominee.
In the March primary, Galindo and Garcia advanced to the runoff after finishing ahead of two other Democratic candidates, with Galindo winning 29% of the vote and Garcia receiving 27%.
Republicans held a runoff in the district, with Carlos De La Cruz besting state Rep. John Lujan for the GOP nomination by 57.7% to 42.3%.
Texas’s 35th Congressional District was originally created after the 2010 census to accommodate the state’s rapid population growth. The district historically stretched along the Interstate 35 corridor, linking Democratic-leaning areas of east Austin and San Antonio through Hays, Comal, and Caldwell counties.
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However, after Texas lawmakers approved a new congressional map last year, the district was significantly redrawn and is now considered more favorable to Republicans. The new boundaries shift the district away from Austin and center it around south, east, and northeast Bexar County, along with Guadalupe, Karnes, and Wilson counties.
The redistricting changes also prompted Casar, the district’s current representative, to run instead for the newly Austin-centered 37th District after Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) announced his retirement. Casar later won that Democratic primary with more than 80% of the vote.
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